Tag: Bollywood

What is a good movie to watch? I am sure that most of you can rattle off at least a dozen movies off the top of your head. However, the real answer to that question is a bit more complex. It’s often very subjective and greatly influenced by personal preferences. Your judgement might not necessarily align with that of a critic. Now, don’t get me wrong. Reviews are important. They can often save you from a couple of hours of agony. But, just a review or two is often not enough to get a sense of how watchable a movie is. This is where aggregators come in. Services like Rotten Tomatoes, which collect and summarise critic as well as audience ratings, are a great resource for movie buffs.

Rotten Tomatoes features both Hollywood and Bollywood movies. However, it’s obvious that the focus is on western movies, western media, and western audiences. If you are looking for your dope of Indian cinema, Rotten Tomatoes is not the place to be. The good news is that there are quite a few desi versions of the Tomatometer. Here are my top four picks.

Know Your Films

The design of this website is a bit old school, but it does get the job done. The home page shows a selection of entertainment news, upcoming movies, current movies, and some featured movies from the past. For current movies, the box office performance, as well as the latest reviews are displayed. Opening up a movie’s page shows more info including cast, crew, sound track, and various reviews. There is, however, no average rating, or a quick way to see how a movie has been received. There are a few other useful features including the ability to create watchlists (requires registration), and watching popular Bollywood clips and trailers.

Filmy Pakode

This website trims all the fat and puts all the focus on the films and their ratings. The home page is just a collection of recently released movies along with their ratings, and a preview of the upcoming movies. The individual movie page contains average rating, along with information about movie cast, plot, and trailers and preview clips. Filmy Pakoda is simple and useful. But, the lack of even basic features like Search limits its utility.

Sahi Nahi

Sahi Nahi is the new kid in the block, and it’s very obvious what the inspiration for this service is. The design is clean and pleasant with good use of typography. The home page gives you a quick overview of the latest movies along with their ratings, as well as the current top box office performers. You also have featured celebrities, movies, and blog articles. Every movie page features the critic rating along with excerpts of their review, trailer, and cast and crew information. It’s worth noting here that Sahi Nahi follows a Rotten Tomatoes like rating system were each review is classified as either positive and negative. The overall rating is not an average of the scores assigned by each reviewer. The layout is responsive, hence, Sahi Nahi works well on a wide range of devices including phones and tablets.

The Review Monk

The Review Monk has an unmistakably Indian soul that will endear it to Indian movie fans. The beautiful slider on the home page showcasing some of the most memorable moments in Indian cinema will impress you straight away. The Review Monk, however, doesn’t restrict itself to Indian cinema. Hollywood movies that have been released in India are also featured. The home pages offers a quick look at movies that are currently in the theatres, as well as top rated recent movies. The coming soon section displays the release dates of movies that will hit the theatres soon. There are even monthly reports and occasional blog posts about cinema for the film buffs looking for more. Every movie page has a TRM score, excerpts from reviews, cast and crew information, soundtrack list, trailer, and twitter buzz. There is even a spider chart breaking down the critic’s ratings for you. The Review Monk score is an average, unlike Sahi nahi or Rotten Tomatoes. For mobile users, there’s a free Android app that’s once again simple but elegant and useful. You can register to build your profile by rating and reviewing movies you have watched, and adding movies you want to watch to your watchlist. In addition to Bollywood movies, The Review Monk is currently also tracking Tamil and Telegu movies. The idea behind The Review Monk might not be original, but the execution is really good.

While Hollywood actors being killed by people who spread hoaxes on the Internet is not new, pranksters have now decided to target popular Bollywood actors as well.

After Micky Rourke and John Cena were recently declared dead by hoaxers, popular Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was also killed by some internet idiot in an accident. The report of the death of Amitabh Bachchan spread like wildfire on Twitter and Facebook. However, the actor is definitely safe and sound and has been tweeting fun tweets.

The message was spread through a link on a satire website called swell server and had the following report:

(Local Team News 9) Amitabh Bachan died in a single vehicle crash on Route 80 between Morristown and Roswell. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics responding to the vehicle accident and was identified by photo ID found on his body. Alcohol and drugs do not appear to have been a factor in this accident – June 28, 2012

Highway Safety Investigators have told reporters that Amitabh Bachan lost control while driving a friend’s vehicle on Interstate 80 and rolled the vehicle several times killing him instantly.

The vehicle was believed to have been traveling at approximately 95 miles per hour in a 55mph zone at the time of the accident.

Witnesses have stated that Amitabh Bachan’s car crossed the double lines several times prior to the accident and hit the center lane divider causing the vehicle to flip and roll.

Toxicology tests will be performed to determine whether he was driving under the influence, however initial findings indicate that durgs or alcohol did not contribute in any way to this accident as it was more likely to been caused by road conditions.

Memorial services for Amitabh Bachan have not yet been announced. The service is expected to be a closed casket funeral due to the severe head trauma.

Additional details and information will be forthcoming as they become available.

This story is 100% false and is a rumor. Please do not fall for such stupid news in the future. Also, in future do not spread such stories and try and confirm things through your local news.

Yes, Techie-Buzz is still a technology blog. We still couldn’t help having Shahrukh Khan feature twice here in the last couple of months. In October, I wrote about Shahrukh Khan’s aggressive digital marketing for his film RA.One. Now, for his upcoming release, Don 2, Microsoft India in partnership with Excel Entertainment, the producers of the film, has launched a unique contest which gives winners a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet SRK and travel to Berlin.

To enter the Meet the Don2: Mission Berlin contest, you need to buy one of the Microsoft products Windows 7 PC, Windows Phone, Microsoft Office 2010, or Xbox 360 from a retail store in the contest period and then answer five simple questions and write a catchy slogan at www.MissionBerlin.in. The contest runs from November 25th to December 20th, 2011. If your entry is shortlisted, you will be asked to send a copy of the invoice as a proof of purchase.

The first 1000 correct and complete entries will win 4 tickets to the first day first show of Don 2 to watch it with family and friends. Top five winning families with best slogan will get a chance to meet Shahrukh Khan in person. And one of the luckiest family amongst these will win an all-expenses-paid trip to the beautiful, historic city of Berlin. Don 2 is shot in Berlin and the sightseeing arrangements include trips to shooting spots!

Yahoo! India has launched a new portal called Movieplex, which will offer high quality Bollywood movie streams for free. Yahoo will be partnering with leading movie production houses in India to periodically introduce new movies.

“Over 30 million Internet users consume 1.7 billion videos every month across India (according to comScore January 2011 figures). Movieplex is an example of how Yahoo! connects people to what matters to them the most and Indian movie lovers now have the best full-length movies available to them at their convenience, remarked Arun Tadanki, MD of Yahoo! India.

In a country like India where piracy is rampant, movie production houses have been gradually warming up to the idea of leveraging the web. Rajshri group, which is one of India’s oldest and largest Movie and TV production houses, has its own online video-on-demand portal. Other third party services like NyooTV have also been gaining popularity. Although poor broadband penetration and below par internet speeds pose a serious challenge, forward looking initiatives like these are probably the best way to tackle piracy.

The movie which stars Salman Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Dimple Kapadia and Vinod Khanna is about a corrupt cop who fights with politician goons who are corrupt than him. The movie was a breakaway success and was one of the biggest hits of 2010. Salman Khan also picked up several awards for the movie at the recent Star Screen awards.

The movie also famous for the song Munni Badnaam which contains lyrics that feature a popular pain reliever in India; Zandu Balm. Now the full movie is available to watch online on YouTube, this is definitely a very bold move by Arbaaz Khan who also produced the movie.

Celebrity bloggers are a common specimen in both Bollywood and Hollywood. However, very few blog with the sincerity of Amitabh Bachchan. The Indian film industry legend, pens his thoughts almost daily at the BigB blog hosted by Blog Adda.

While the open platform provided by blogs offers a great way to communicate and connect with fans, the anonymity offered by the Internet also encourages mischief makers. Apparently one individual has been targeting Mr Bachchan and using the blog to submit derogatory and abusive comments. The concerned individual has also been sending abusive SMS messages for several months.

In an attempt to put an end to the matter, Mr Bachchan has filed a formal complaint with the cybercrime cell. This is what he had to say about this incident:

There is a serious effort by a member that writes and comments on this blog to use language and expression that is abusive,filthy and utterly disgusting. I have brought this to the notice of the authorities and corrective measures to see none of the stuff that comes from this foul mouthed individual shall ever be allowed on this platform. Any further attempt from this person shall now be under legal cyber space action, now very prominently activated in this country. Further more. This individual has been sending me the most unprintable abuse on sms on my phone. I have after great tolerance for many months now reported the matter to the police and they will be taking serious punitive action, not just in my country but in the country of the origin of these missives.

This blog, this platform, this home for our extended family members is a sacred and revered destination and any attempt to defile it shall be dealt with in the most severe manner.

Police officials claimed that they are yet to receive a complaint. However, in typical fashion, they promised to keep an eye out for further offenses.

With (most of) Hollywood adopting 3D with open arms, can Bollywood be far behind? Panasonic is obviously confident that 3D will help take the Indian entertainment industry to the next level. The Japanese multi-national held a live demonstration at the Yash Raj Films Studios, which was attended by several members of the Indian film fraternity.

Panasonic’s ‘camera to couch’ range of solutions cover everything from creating and editing 3D content to viewing them at home. Speaking on the event, Daizo Ito, President, Panasonic India, said, “Panasonic has been the harbinger of new technology for several decades now. With Indian creativity getting applauded across the world, it becomes imperative for our company to make available the latest movie-making and broadcast technology in India”.

Noted filmmaker Karan Johar was equally enthusiastic about the launch and said to Times of India, “I am so excited that the 3D technology is now available to filmmakers like myself. It will literally add a new dimension to our story telling and creative expression. We all acknowledge the influence of this medium and with 3D captivating the audience so much more, there is going to be a new revolution in movie making. I’m sure the next 3D blockbuster movie just like Avatar is going to come from India”.

Panasonic will also be organising competitions across India to encourage students of leading film and television institutes to create original 3D content.

Aamir Khan is busy promoting his movie "Peepli Live" which will be released this Friday in theatres across India. In order to get attention and gain more viewers, Aamir Khan is having a Live streaming and Chat on Facebook about the movie.

The chat will be live and viewers can ask him questions about the movie "Peepli Live" and also interact with him. Peepli Live is a Bollywood movie which has been produced by Aamir Khan. It is based on the farmers suicides and the subsequent media and political response towards it. We have embedded a video of the live streaming of the Aamir Khan Peepli Live movie and chat below.

You can also interact and chat with Aamir Khan through your Facebook account by visiting this link. Have fun and make sure you interact with your favorite Bollywood star.

If you are a Bollywood music fan, you might love to listen to some of the latest and hip music from the new and old movies. Listening to music online is one of the best options these days because many people usually spend a lot of time online these days.

Dhingana is one of the best sites to listen to Bollywood songs free, users can also download some free Bollywood music through Internet cache if direct downloads are not available. Dhingana allows users to listen to Bollywood Songs free online without any limits.

Looking to watch the latest Indian television shows and Bollywood movies online for free in India and US? NyooTV is India’s First Online Social TV, which will allow you to watch Hindi sitcoms and Indian television shows for free.

Based in Philadelphia, and founded in January, 2009, AKG Technologies Inc. is operated independently by a dedicated management team of professionals with offices in Bhopal, Mumbai and Philadelphia. Its flagship product, NyooTV aggregates and offers premium Indian entertainment content across new media platforms and digital entertainment devices currently to Indian audiences in US and India for FREE.

Gaurav Mendiratta is the Founder and Director of AKG Technologies, one of the fastest growing companies in the digital entertainment industry. Gaurav holds a Masters in Telecommunications & Networking and a Bachelors of Engineering in Electronics and Communications.

NyooTV boasts of a solid product platform using adaptive streaming and customized mobile applications to provide superior user experience even with low bandwidths. NyooTV is India’s First Premium Social TV Network that generates revenue using video advertisements even from long tail or shelved and old content. The aim of NyooTV is to be the market leader in the premium legal entertainment content segment, globally. NyooTV also has started producing its own exclusive content through in-house initiatives.

The premium legal content on NyooTV is divided in to the following categories:

Movies: NyooTV has teamed up with Content Providers to deliver movie trailers, clips and full movies in high quality. Spread over a variety of genres, movie lovers can watch Bollywood, Mollywood and Tollywood films free of cost.

TV Shows: Partnerships with Channel Providers help NyooTV provide users with access to TV shows, especially those which are not aired anymore.

Sports: Users will be able to watch sporting events live or on demand. Matches which were played earlier, and are no longer available anywhere can be viewed and enjoyed.

Entertainment: Award Ceremonies, Live Performances, Music Albums, Fashion shows and Celebrity Interviews can be watched on NyooTV.

Blogs: NyooTV provides the latest reviews of movies, TV shows and sporting events. Users can use NyooTV as a platform to post comments, reviews and discuss all the content available on the website.